JSDoc vs mdBook
JSDoc
jsdoc.appmdBook
rust-lang.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | JSDoc | mdBook |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Documentation Generators | 7.2 (#27) | 7.8 (#12) |
| Customization | Users can edit the default template or create a new template for generated documentation. | Theme files allow users to customize the formatting of the output. |
| Integrations | The project README lists community templates, Grunt and Gulp plugins, a GitHub Action, and a GitBook integration. | The documentation describes using GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD to test and deploy books automatically. |
| Purpose | JSDoc is an API documentation generator for JavaScript that scans source code comments and generates an HTML documentation website. | mdBook is a command-line tool for creating books from Markdown, including product or API documentation, tutorials, and course materials. |
| Support | The project README directs users to the JSDoc Users mailing list and Stack Overflow questions tagged `jsdoc` for help. | The project directs users to its GitHub issue tracker for issues and feature requests and relies on community contributions to fix bugs and add features. |
Plans
In their own words
mdBook
mdBook is a free command-line tool for creating books from Markdown, including product and API documentation, tutorials, and course materials. It builds static output files in a book directory that can be transferred to a web service. Integrated search and syntax highlighting for code blocks help readers navigate and read examples, while theme files allow formatting changes. Preprocessors can add custom syntax or modify content; backends can render output to multiple formats. The `mdbook test` command tests Rust code samples in a book. Project documentation describes using GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD to test and deploy books automatically. Developers can also import mdBook libraries or use its plugin mechanism to build custom tooling and output backends. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and Markdown is its source input. Building from source requires Rust and Cargo, with Rust 1.88 as the stated minimum. The project directs issues and feature requests to its GitHub issue tracker and relies on community contributions for bug fixes and added features. The free, open-source plan is licensed under MPL-2.0.